Rule2025-13764
Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Inseason Action for the 2025 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery
Primary source
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Published
July 22, 2025
Effective
July 22, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces inseason action for the 2025 Pacific halibut non-Tribal directed commercial fishery in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's (IPHC) regulatory Area 2A. This action adds a fishing period, July 22 through July 24, 2025, with a fishing period catch limit of 5,000 pounds (2.3 metric tons (mt)) per vessel, dressed weight. This action is intended to provide opportunity to achieve the 2025 non-Tribal directed commercial fishery allocation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 138 (Tuesday, July 22, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 22, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34384-34385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-13764]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[RTID 0648-XF025]
Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Inseason Action for
the 2025 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces inseason action for the 2025 Pacific halibut
non-Tribal directed commercial fishery in the International Pacific
Halibut Commission's (IPHC) regulatory Area 2A. This action adds a
fishing period, July 22 through July 24, 2025, with a fishing period
catch limit of 5,000 pounds (2.3 metric tons (mt)) per vessel, dressed
weight. This action is intended to provide opportunity to achieve the
2025 non-Tribal directed commercial fishery allocation.
DATES: This rule is effective July 22, 2025, through December 7, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Fitch, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (360) 867-8608, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#28404d495c404d5a064e415c4b406846474949064f475e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="61090400150904134f0708150209210f0e00004f060e17">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 25, 2025, NMFS published a final
rule implementing fishing periods (i.e., season dates) and fishing
period limits (i.e., catch limits), by vessel size class, for the IPHC
Area 2A Pacific halibut non-Tribal directed commercial fishery that
operates south of Point Chehalis, WA (lat. 46[deg]53.30' N) (90 FR
26931, June 25, 2025). The Area 2A non-Tribal directed commercial
fishery allocation is 259,515 pounds (117.7 mt), net weight (i.e., the
weight of Pacific halibut that is without gills and entrails, head-off,
washed, and without ice and slime) (90 FR 13293, March 21, 2025).
The initial fishing periods occurred June 24-26 and July 8-10,
2025, with fishing period limits ranging from 2,000 pounds to 5,000
pounds (0.9 mt to 2.3 mt), varied by vessel size class. The California,
Oregon, and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife provide
estimated harvest data to NMFS inseason. This landings information
indicates that sufficient allocation remains to warrant an additional
fishing period. To date, approximately 173,488 pounds (78.7 mt), net
weight, have been harvested of the 259,515-pound (117.7 mt) allocation
(67.9 percent), leaving 86,027 pounds (39.0 mt) remaining (33.1
percent).
NMFS is adding a fishing period not previously implemented in the
final rule published on June 25, 2025 (90 FR 26931), in accordance with
50 CFR 300.63(e)(1)(iii). Fishing period limits implemented through
inseason action are set equal across all vessel size classes and are
based on the allocation estimated to be remaining and the projected
participation and catch rates in this additional fishing period.
NMFS has determined the following inseason action is necessary to
meet the management objective of attaining the allocation, is not
anticipated to risk exceeding the allocation, and is consistent with
the inseason management provisions allowing for additional fishing
periods.
Inseason Action
This inseason action implements an additional fishing period,
beginning July 22, 2025, at 8 a.m. PDT and ending on July 24, 2025, at
6 p.m. PDT. This inseason action also implements a fishing period catch
limit of 5,000 pounds (2.3 mt) per vessel, dressed weight (head-on,
with ice and slime), for all vessel size classes.
On July 16, 2025, notice of this inseason action was sent via email
notification directly to the affected permit holders using the email
addresses obtained from the 2025 Pacific halibut directed commercial
fishery permit applications. Notice of this inseason action was also
posted on the NMFS website: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/2025-west-coast-pacific-halibut-directed-commercial-fishery">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/2025-west-coast-pacific-halibut-directed-commercial-fishery</a>. Pursuant to 50
CFR 300.63(e)(1)(iii) this inseason action is effective either upon the
date and time of receipt of the direct email notification, or upon
publication in the Federal Register, whichever occurs earlier (90 FR
26931, June 25, 2025).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to the Northern Pacific Halibut
Act of 1982. This action is taken under the regulatory authority at 50
CFR 300.63(e)(1)(iii), and is exempt from review under Executive Order
12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice
and comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest.
As previously noted, notification of the additional fishing period was
provided to the affected public through direct email to permit
[[Page 34385]]
holders and to the general public via the NMFS website. As of July 16,
2025, the Area 2A non-Tribal directed commercial fishery had caught
only an estimated 66.9 percent of the fishery allocation. Given that
harvest in the first two fishing periods in 2025 is estimated to be
well below the annual allocation, sufficient allocation remains to
warrant an additional fishing period and a third fishing period is
considered necessary to maximize commercial fishing opportunity to
attain the allocation. On July 16, 2025, in accordance with 50 CFR
300.63(e)(1)(iii), notice of this inseason action was sent via email
notification directly to the affected permit holders using the email
addresses obtained from the 2025 Pacific halibut directed commercial
fishery permit applications. Notice of inseason action to add
subsequent fishing periods via direct email to permit holders was
established in 2025 to provide fishermen sufficient time to plan for
any additional fishing period and to follow the prescribed schedule for
additional fishing periods set out in the final rule establishing the
annual management measures for the directed commercial fishery (90 FR
26931, June 25, 2025).
The fishery may close no later than December 7, 2025 (90 FR 13293,
March 21, 2025). As such, implementing this action through proposed and
final rulemaking would limit the benefit this action is intended to
provide to fishery participants. Without timely implementation of any
warranted additional fishing periods, the annual fishery allocation
would unlikely be reached. Failure to meet the annual allocation would
limit the economic benefits from the fishery to participants and would
result in the fishery not meeting the goals of the Catch Sharing Plan.
Additionally, no aspect of this action is controversial, and inseason
changes of this nature were anticipated in the process described in
regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(e)(1)(iii) and in the final rule (90 FR
26931, June 25, 2025). Accordingly, there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action.
For the reasons discussed above, there is also good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to establish an effective date less than 30 days after
the date of publication of this action in the Federal Register, as such
a delay in effectiveness would unnecessarily constrain fishing
opportunity and be inconsistent with the goals of the Catch Sharing
Plan. Such a delay would also limit the economic opportunity for
fishermen and their associated fishing communities that is intended to
be created by this rule. This inseason action is warranted based on
remaining allocation and is not expected to result in exceeding the
Area 2A Pacific halibut non-Tribal directed commercial fishery
allocation. NMFS regulations allow for adding fishing periods and
setting fishing period limits inseason to provide opportunity to
achieve the annual allocation, when sufficient allocation remains and
additional fishing will not result in exceeding the catch limit for the
fishery. NMFS recently received information on the progress of landings
in the non-Tribal directed commercial fishery, indicating that an
additional fishing period with fishing period limits should be
implemented in the fishery to ensure optimal and sustainable harvest of
the allocation. As stated above, it is in the public interest that this
action is not delayed, because a delay in the effectiveness of this
additional fishing period would likely inhibit the allocation
objectives of the Area 2A Pacific halibut non-Tribal directed
commercial fishery from being met. Finally, NMFS has determined that
this rule qualifies for a waiver of the 30-day delay in effective date
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) because absent the delay in
effectiveness participants would otherwise be able to fish on the dates
outlined for the additional fishing period in the final rule (90 FR
26931, June 25, 2025).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773-773k.
Dated: July 18, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-13764 Filed 7-21-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 22, 2025.
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